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collect a refund of the more than $4 million it paid to the IRS IRS for signi? cant amounts of crude oil export taxes paid and, unless the United States appeals the case to the United States if those refund requests are denied, the inevitable resulting

Supreme Court, the Court takes the appeal, and the Court re- litigation would leave the IRS in the same position it is in now. verses the Fifth Circuit’s decision. Another solution to the likely dearth of Oil Spill Liability

Trust Fund revenue in the wake of this decision would be

Future Impact legislative intervention. Congress could repeal the statute

Because the Fifth Circuit’s opinion is so new, it is dif? cult and replace it with a tax that could not run afoul of the Ex- to determine what its future impact will be. The United States port Clause, such as, for example, doubling the import tax on has until June 22, 2022 to appeal the Fifth Circuit’s decision. crude oil for the bene? t of the fund. Such a measure would

It may opt not to ? le an appeal because this decision is not have the effect of subsidizing the export side of the industry, binding in future cases – as it currently stands, trial courts which may enable it to expand exports in wake of the sanc- are not obligated to follow it, nor are other panels of the Fifth tions against Russian crude oil.

Circuit. This is because the decision is a plurality: out of the three-judge panel, one judge authored the opinion, another

The Author judge concurred (agreeing with the holding of the authoring judge, but for different reasons than in the primary opinion),

Miller and the third judge dissented (arguing that the tax is constitu-

Carra Miller is the managing partner of the tional). Therefore, the opinion is restricted in application only

Corpus Christi of? ce of Schouest, Bamdas, to that speci? c dispute between Tra? gura and the IRS. How-

Soshea, BenMaier & Eastham, PLLC.

Email: [email protected] ever, the IRS may opt to appeal the case to the Supreme Court because other crude oil exporters will claim refunds from the

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